You Question, I Answer
by Chocobo-Cloud
Summary: Axel glanced up at the small blond boy, surprised that his slight companion had finally detached his mouth from the blue stained popsicle stick to form the quiet question. "The ocean?" / AkuRoku Summer-themed. Written for Ocean Day!


A/N- Hello everyone! It's been quite some time since I've posted a story here, and I greatly regret that, but I have some news to share as well. I've recently received some inappropriate and rude comments on several of my stories recently from both annomous sources and fanfiction(dot)net users, and whereas things like this wouldn't normally offend me, this is the fourth round of offensive comments I have received within this year, and I'm really sorry to say this, but this will be the last story I will post on this website. For those of you interested in continuing to read my fiction, I've created a livejournal account under the username of toujourssourire where I will post all of my future fics. I'm leaving the account open so that those of you who do not have a livejournal will be able to access the stories as well. I'm really sorry that I'm leaving, but I hope that this journal will start things off on the right foot. So, here's my last enstallment for my journal! It was written for Ocean Day in Japan, which is today actaully! I hope you enjoy it.

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"What's the ocean?"

Axel glanced up at the small blond boy (although the keybearer had taken an interest in frowning quite seriously whenever the redhead let a 'kiddo' slip past his lips during conversation), surprised that his slight companion had finally detached his mouth from the blue stained popsicle stick to form the quiet question.

"The ocean?"

"Yeah, the ocean. Demyx was telling me the other day that he has the ability to control water, and that if he goes near the ocean, it supercharges him. But, he didn't tell me what exactly the ocean was," Roxas explained serenely, swinging his feet to and fro off the edge of the clock tower.

Axel ran a hand through his hair and groaned silently to himself. He was _really _beginning to wish that Demyx wouldn't ramble so much to Roxas about anything and everything that interested him, because every single time he was returned to Axel for their customary ice cream eating in the late afternoon, the blond has several billion questions to ask.

_At least it's not the baby question again._

"Well, squirt, do you want the Zexion approved definition, or the short and sweet version?" Number VIII inquired, smirking knowingly at the half-hearted glower on Roxas' face. But, since he was about to be presented with new information, the scowl was quickly replaced with a minute smile.

"The shorter one. Zexion's definition would definitely be science related in some way, and I don't want to interact with Vexen if I can help it," Roxas replied quickly, his cheeks tinting a dusty rose. Axel couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the memory of the mission. Vexen had assigned both VIII and XIII to retrieve special ethers for an experiment he was doing, but when the time came to report back to the long haired scientist, all Roxas had to offer was handful of mega-potions (since Axel didn't have the heart to tell him what he was collecting was entirely the wrong thing because the blonde just looked so _cute_ gathering the supplies).

"Okay. The ocean. Well..." Axel leaned back and closed his eyes, drawing up a memory that his former self had experienced. There were several fragments of his pervious that the redhead remembered. They were like snippets from a roughly cut up reel of film, starting and stopping at sudden points in time. For a moment, the clock tower disappeared and was replaced with the reminiscence of brackish air, strong wind, and wide cerulean waves. "It's a large body of water, Rox. Larger than any heartless you've ever encountered."

"Larger than the Phantom Heartless?" Roxas gasped.

"Yep. The ocean would swallow the Phantom Heartless in one huge wave, I bet you," Axel added, wishing that defeating the said creatures were that simple. Unfortunately, Roxas looked even more perplexed.

"Wave? The ocean waves?" Roxas stared down at his gloved palm for several moments before moving it back and forth rapidly in the universal sign of waving. Axel blinked, wondering how in the world naivety and unintelligence could be so cute.

"Well, it does, but not like that. You see, the ocean's water has a pull to it, okay? The water goes back and forth in these huge, crashing, rolling plummets of water. Those are called waves. Once waves reach a certain point on the beach, they retreat back into the water." The redhead looked down at his smaller friend to see if he was computing any of the information he had just said. Roxas was gazing off thoughtfully into the distance, his teeth worrying the soft pink of his bottom lip.

"But Demyx said that he liked to swim in the ocean. How can you swim in the ocean if it pulls and tugs and crashes and rolls like that?" Roxas queried with a interested gleam in his eyes.

"Oh, you can easily swim in the ocean. That's what people normally do when they go there. They're cautious, though, because if you go too far into the ocean, then it'll definitely pull at you, and the ocean isn't very lenient about giving things back once it has something in its grasps. But you can stand in the shallow part of the water and be perfectly safe." Axel placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, swaying him gently back and forth, mimicking the lull of the ocean. "And instead of pulling you in, the water feels just like that."

Roxas relaxed in Axel's hold, hiding his bright blue eyes behind sun kissed eyelids as he allowed himself to sway backwards and forwards, a small smile materializing on his content face. They stayed like that for what felt like hours, swaying together, safely tucked away in an environment dug up from a memory fragment and imagination. Roxas was the first one to drift back to reality, nuzzling his face into the crook of Axel's shoulder, wondering if the comforting aroma he found drifting into his nose was what the ocean smelled like.

"Hey, Ax?"

"Hmm?" Axel muttered into the boy's hair, his arms now looped lethargically around XIII's petit waist.

"Will you take me to the ocean someday? It doesn't even have to be the next day we get a vacation. Just someday," Roxas asked quietly, afraid to break the gentle, serene atmosphere that he and Axel were nestled safely in.

The redhead hesitated for a moment, his fingertips no longer tracing circles along the blond's lithe back. Roxas felt the hesitation before he saw it and peered up into Axel's emerald eyes with an childlike smile. For a moment, Axel swore it was the depth of the ocean that he was gazing into. VIII nodded before holding Roxas impossibly closer to himself, shaking his head '_yes_' again.

"Yeah, Rox. I'll take you to the ocean someday. Just you and me. We can build Castle Oblivion out of sand and stand in the shallow part of the water, and when we get back, we'll show our tans to Demyx and make him really jealous."

Roxas laughed breathily into Axel's chest, approving the proposition to the fullest.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

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A/N- Thank you to everyone who has read any one of my works throughout the years! I really, really appreciated every single comment, watch, and fave I received from you guys. I had a blast, and I hope you guys continue to write and do what you do! Take care everyone 3 The full address of my fiction journal is below:

h t t p : / / t o u j o u r s s o u r i r e (dot) l i v e j o u r n a l (dot) c o m /

May the Muses be with you~


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